Welcome to my blog. This blog is all about writing tips for writers and teachers of writing. Twice monthly, I will address one aspect of writing. I will also post tips about no-fee contests and calls for submissions by publishers.
If you would like to know more about me or my books, check out my website at www.nancykellyallen.com

Nancy's Books

Sunday, September 4, 2016

My journey
into the world of writing started later in life, age forty to be exact. A late
bloomer, that’s me, but I had a big dream: writerdom (a homemade word). At the
time I failed to realize writerdom was not in my immediate future. I put my dream into action and began writing, collecting rejections and an occasional tidbit of encouragement from editors, and creating a host of manuscripts that would never wrangle a copyright date. ONCE UPON A DIME, my first book, showed up on my doorstep almost ten years later. I was thrilled beyond belief and knew I could knock out another book lickety-split. Wrong! Overnight success bypassed me, but five years later, I held my second book, ON THE BANKS OF THE AMAZON. On a positive note, I had cut the waiting time in half.

The primary
element that kept me thinking positively was my job. Every day, I read picture
books to students in the school where I was a librarian. I continued to fall in
love with new stories, watched students’ reactions to the stories, and read a
wide variety of authors and types of picture books, on the job training at its
best. Seeing how authors approached and plotted stories, developed characters
and hooks, and played with words immersed me in lyrical literature. My daily
activities forced my dream to stay alive.

Rejections
poured in but so did new children’s books. The excitement of finding authors,
whose words tingled and teased my senses, balanced the disappointment of “No,
but thank you” letters.

I learned to embrace
failure—to view a rejection as a challenge—and accept those tidbits of advice
and encouragement the occasional editor sent my way. Still, I struggled to
write a publishable manuscript, but I recognized that the business
of publishing is frustrating to all authors. I’m not alone. The struggle is
real as much today as when I first began, maybe more so. I’ll continue to accumulate
rejections, but more importantly, I’ll continue to write, learn, and grow as an
author.

On another
note, beginning this month, I’m including markets for young authors to submit
work.

Call
for submissions for Young Writers:

Amazing Kids! Magazine is excited to announce our
first Money Smarts contest, which is now open for submissions! September is the
time kids start getting back into school and learning. For our contest, we want
you to write a story about a character that learns a money lesson. We are
looking for creative and fresh stories about learning a money lesson. Let your
imaginations soar!

This contest is open to kids
all around the world in ages 7 – 15. We have split the categories into the
following age groups: 7 – 9, 10 – 11, 12 – 14, and 15 – 18. One winner will be
chosen in each category to win a Solitaire Chess game and FootBubbles along
with an official certificate verifying their winning entry and publication in
the Amazing Kids! Magazine.

Alphie Dog Fiction.We will consider stories from 1,000 words to 10,000 words for adult
stories and 500 words to 10,000 words for children’s stories. The minimum word
count is not flexible and does not include the story title. We consider a
wide range of genres, including children’s, but not including stories which are
graphically violent or pornographic in nature or erotica. Please don’t be put
off if your story does not fit a classic genre, but give the best description
you can of where you see it sitting. We want to offer our readers variety and
enable them to choose stories to fit their mood.

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About Me

My route to writing children’s books has more twists and turns than a winding mountain road. I worked as a social worker and traveled many a winding road, uphill and down, around Hazard, Kentucky. Later, I became an elementary school teacher, and then a school librarian. After spending days introducing books to children, I spent nights writing books for them. At this point I have written over 30 picture books, one chapter book, and one middle grade novel. I have a master’s degree in Education from Morehead State University and a master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky. Home is still in Kentucky in the log cabin in which I grew up. My husband, Larry, and I share our cabin with two canine writer assistants, Jazi and Roxi.